[shabad] Har Bin Jeeo Jal Bal Jaao||

[Sewadar]

In Sri Guru Granth Sahib jee, after Sri Japji Sahib, comes Sri Raag, written by Sri Guru Nanak Sahib, below is the first shabad.

*Note: Mods will try to do the seva of posting the shabads with Guru Sahib's kirpaa in order of start from SGGS to end.

<> siqgur pRswid ]

rwgu isrIrwgu mhlw pihlw 1 Gru 1 ]

moqI q mMdr aUsrih rqnI q hoih jVwau ]

ksqUir kuMgU Agir cMdin lIip AwvY cwau ]

mqu dyiK BUlw vIsrY qyrw iciq n AwvY nwau ]1]

hir ibnu jIau jil bil jwau ]

mY Awpxw guru pUiC dyiKAw Avru nwhI Qwau ]1] rhwau ]

DrqI q hIry lwl jVqI pliG lwl jVwau ]

mohxI muiK mxI sohY kry rMig pswau ]

mqu dyiK BUlw vIsrY qyrw iciq n AwvY nwau ]2]

isDu hovw isiD lweI iriD AwKw Awau ]

gupqu prgtu hoie bYsw loku rwKY Bwau ]

mqu dyiK BUlw vIsrY qyrw iciq n AwvY nwau ]3]

sulqwnu hovw myil lskr qKiq rwKw pwau ]

hukmu hwslu krI bYTw nwnkw sB vwau ]

mqu dyiK BUlw vIsrY qyrw iciq n AwvY nwau ]4]1]

ik oa(n)kaar sathigur prasaadh ||

raag sireeraag mehalaa pehilaa 1 ghar 1 ||

mothee th ma(n)dhar oosarehi rathanee th hohi jarraao ||

kasathoor ku(n)goo agar cha(n)dhan leep aavai chaao ||

math dhaekh bhoolaa veesarai thaeraa chith n aavai naao ||1||

har bin jeeo jal bal jaao ||

mai aapanaa gur pooshh dhaekhiaa avar naahee thhaao ||1|| rehaao ||

dhharathee th heerae laal jarrathee palagh laal jarraao ||

mohanee mukh manee sohai karae ra(n)g pasaao ||

math dhaekh bhoolaa veesarai thaeraa chith n aavai naao ||2||

sidhh hovaa sidhh laaee ridhh aakhaa aao ||

gupath paragatt hoe baisaa lok raakhai bhaao ||

math dhaekh bhoolaa veesarai thaeraa chith n aavai naao ||3||

sulathaan hovaa mael lasakar thakhath raakhaa paao ||

hukam haasal karee bait(h)aa naanakaa sabh vaao ||

math dhaekh bhoolaa veesarai thaeraa chith n aavai naao ||4||1||

One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:

Raag Siree Raag, First Mehla, First House:

If I had a palace made of pearls, inlaid with jewels,

scented with musk, saffron and sandalwood, a sheer delight to behold

-seeing this, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. ||1||

Without the Lord, my soul is scorched and burnt.

I consulted my Guru, and now I see that there is no other place at all. ||1||Pause||

If the floor of this palace was a mosaic of diamonds and rubies, and if my bed was encased with rubies,

and if heavenly beauties, their faces adorned with emeralds, tried to entice me with sensual gestures of love

-seeing these, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. ||2||

If I were to become a Siddha, and work miracles, summon wealth

and become invisible and visible at will, so that people would hold me in awe

-seeing these, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. ||3||

If I were to become an emperor and raise a huge army, and sit on a throne,

issuing commands and collecting taxes-O Nanak, all of this could pass away like a puff of wind.

Seeing these, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. ||4||1||

[Akaali]

<> siqgur pRswid ]

ik oa(n)kaar sathigur prasaadh ||

There is only one universal creative being. Who is found through the grace, the blessing "parsaad" of that Guru (satgur), who is "sat", who is forever true.

rwgu isrIrwgu mhlw pihlw 1 Gru 1 ]

raag sireeraag mehalaa pehilaa 1 ghar 1 ||

Sri Raga is one of the parent ragas from which other ragas have been derived. The word Sri means supreme or exalted and as such this raga powerful. Bhai Gurdas calls it a supreme raga, supreme like the philosopher’s stone among other stones, because it has the power of converting baser metals into gold. The gurus gave it the first place. This raga is sung in the evening-a period of dusk and darkness. Man’s mind and his inner state as a mortal is one of darkness-caused by maya-and ignorance of his spiritual potentialities. So from darkness to light is the law of nature. In Sri raga, Guru Nanak has dealt with the existing ignorance and superstition and the neglect of spiritual values on account of man’s ego, greed and love of wordly pleasures:

More on Sri Raag

Mahala tells us who wrote the shabad, in Gurbani Mahala is used to refer to the Guru Sahibans.

Gru 1 ]

Ghar

It is a musical sign, used at the top of the Shabad in the SGGS. It gives a hint to Raagees as to what musical clef (beat) to sing the Shabad in. In other words, "Ghar" binds music and poetry in their metrical-form. There are up to seventeen "Ghar" mentioned in the SGGS. Musicologists have different interpretations of this term. But the consensus seems to be that it denotes the parts of a Taal (beat). Following is a list of seventeen Taals used in Indian Music with their respective "Ghar". A close observation of the following list indicates that the majority of the modern Raagees generally seem to sing only in the first three or four.

* GHAR 1 — Daadraa Taal (There is 1 Taalee* and the Beat has 6 Maatraas**

* GHAR 2 — Roopak Taal (There are 2 Taalees and the Beat has 7 Maatraas)

* GHAR 3 — Teen Taal (There 3 Taalees and the Beat has 16 Maatraas)

* GHAR 4 — Chaar Taal (There are 4 Taalees and the Beat has 12 Maatraas)

* GHAR 5 — Panj Taal Swaaree (There are 5 Taalees and the Beat has 15 Maatraas)

* GHAR 6 — Khatt Taal (There are 6 Taalees and the Beat has 18 Maatraas)

* GHAR 7 — Matt (Ashat) Taal (There are 7 Taalees and the Beat has 21 Maatraas)

* GHAR 8 — Asht Mangal Taal (There are 8 Taalees and the Beat has 22 Maatraas)

* GHAR 9 — Mohinee Taal (There are 9 Taalees and the Beat has 23 Maatraas)

* GHAR 10 — Braham Taal (There are 10 Taalees and the Beat has 28 Maatraas)

* GHAR 11 — Rudra Taal (There are 11 Taalees and the Beat has 32 Maatraas)

* GHAR 12 — Vishnu Taal (There are 12 Taalees and the Beat has 36 Maatraas)

* GHAR 13 — Muchkund Taal (There are 13 Taalees and the Beat has 34 Maatraas)

* GHAR 14 — Mahashanee Taal (There are 14 Taalees and the Beat has 42 Maatraas)

* GHAR 15 — Mishr Baran Taal (There are 15 Taalees and the Beat has 47 Maatraas)

* GHAR 16 — Kul Taal (There are 16 Taalees and the Beat has 42 Maatraas)

* GHAR 17 — Characharee Taal (There are 17 Taalees and the Beat has 40 Maatraas)

* Taalee is the pattern of clapping. Taals are typified by a particular pattern and number of claps.

** Maatraa is the beat, which may be subdivided if required.

moqI q mMdr aUsrih rqnI q hoih jVwau ]

mothee th ma(n)dhar oosarehi rathanee th hohi jarraao ||

mothee means jewels, th ma(n)dhar oosarehi, mandar in this context means palace, althought it has other meanings like temple, house, etc., and oosarehi means to make or have made, If I had a palace made of pearls, Gurujee has already created an image within our mind, because we've all scene castles, so if I can get something like that made, and on top of it, rathanee th hohi jarrao, and ingrave jewels on its surface...

ksqUir kuMgU Agir cMdin lIip AwvY cwau ]

kasathoor ku(n)goo agar cha(n)dhan leep aavai chaao ||

and is scented with kasathoor (musk), kungoo (saffron) and chandan (sandalwood), then what a sheer delight to behold (leep aavai chaao), this is still part of the picture that Guru Sahib is painting for us, he makes us not only see but also smell to give a total image of the atmosphere.

mqu dyiK BUlw vIsrY qyrw iciq n AwvY nwau ]1]

math dhaekh bhoolaa veesarai thaeraa chith n aavai naao ||1||

then he says, when I see/experience this, (math dhaekh bhoola), my foolish mind may wander and forget you (veesrai), and your name would not enter my mind(chith), thaeraa chith na aavai naao.

hir ibnu jIau jil bil jwau ]

har bin jeeo jal bal jaao ||

mY Awpxw guru pUiC dyiKAw Avru nwhI Qwau ]1] rhwau ]

mai aapanaa gur pooshh dhaekhiaa avar naahee thhaao ||1|| rehaao ||

The reason why these two lines are highlighted because they are the focal point of the shabad, any shabad ending with rahaao, means to pause and reflect on what was just said, because the rahaao is the essence of the entire shabad, the rahaao line is to be sung when doing this shabad in this specific raag, lets look at what this means.

According to gurmat we know that materialistic things have no place in the hereafter, and this is the essence of the shabad, therefore at the end of the day, Gurujee tells us in the rahaao of this shabad that without the Lord (har bin), my soul (jeeo) is scorched and burnt (jal bal jaao), how did he come to the conclusion? He then says, that I have consulted my Guru (mai aapanaa gur poosh dhaekhiaa), and what did my guru tell me? He said avar naahee thhaao, that there is no other place at all, where I can go.

To be continued...

[Akaali]

DrqI q hIry lwl jVqI pliG lwl jVwau ]

dhharathee th heerae laal jarrathee palagh laal jarraao ||

Now, Gurujee takes us back to the same image. He says, if the floor of this palace (dhartee), dhar means bottom or low, it also means earth in a different context, was a mosaic of diamonds and if rubies were engraved in them (th heerae laal jarrathee), and if my bed(palagh) was encased with rubies (laal) jarraao..., vaheguru, what an artist guru sahib is, he is painting the image as we read this in our mind and he goes on...

DrqI q hIry lwl jVqI pliG lwl jVwau ]

mohanee mukh manee sohai karae ra(n)g pasaao ||

...and if heavenly beauties (mohanee), with their faces (mukh), adorned with emeralds (mani), tried to entice me (sohai karae), with sensual gestures of love (ra(n)g pasaao), now he brings in external factors of maya like the sensual pleasure of the mind of beauty and how the mind sees such things...

mqu dyiK BUlw vIsrY qyrw iciq n AwvY nwau ]2]

math dhaekh bhoolaa veesarai thaeraa chith n aavai naao ||2||

...and my mind or surat seeing this (mat dekh), bhoola veesrai (I might go astray and forget you), teraa chit na aavai naao (and your name, the naaam, would not enter my mind), wow, guru sahib is so magical and mystical, he paints this image and says, after seeing all that I might see this and forget you, we see it today as well, we can just see a good show on or a movie playing which is the same thing it entices our mind, and we see it and forget the name, and forget our purpose. So lets recap, guru sahib shows us images of the house, diamonds, sparkles, beauty, glamour, scents, and all sorts of pleasureable things during that period, today its pretty much the same things, money, house, cars, materialistic things.

mqu dyiK BUlw vIsrY qyrw iciq n AwvY nwau ]2]

sidhh hovaa sidhh laaee ridhh aakhaa aao ||

Guru Sahib takes our mind to picture something else, remember its all maya he is telling us about, SO WE GET THE PICTURE, before he was talking about materialistic things like money, glamour, etc. now he goes on to discuss power and control. He says, sidhh hovaa (if I were to become a siddha), siddh laaee (gain the power of performing miracles, and summon wealth (ridhh aakhaa aao||)...

gupqu prgtu hoie bYsw loku rwKY Bwau ]

gupath paragatt hoe baisaa lok raakhai bhaao ||

..and while sitting become invisible and visible at will (gupat pargat hoe baisaa), we've all seen it somewhere on tv or elsewhere, where a half naked man sitting cross leged becomes invisible and visible, this is what guru sahib is talking about, and he goes on to say, when I do that the people would hold me in awe, they would praise me and show me love (bhao) and RESPECT, lok raakhai bhaao||

mqu dyiK BUlw vIsrY qyrw iciq n AwvY nwau ]3]

math dhaekh bhoolaa veesarai thaeraa chith n aavai naao ||3||

with my mind seeing/wanting these, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. ||3||

sulqwnu hovw myil lskr qKiq rwKw pwau ]

sulathaan hovaa mael lasakar thakhath raakhaa paao ||

Now Guru sahib takes us in another atmosphere, an another form, he says If I were to become an emperor (sultaan hovaa) and raise a huge army, and sit on a throne (mael lasakar takht rakhaa paao), we've ALL seen this either in pictures, or tv, or something, even in Sikh history, there are numerous references to emperor aurangzeb, and other mughal emperors, so for me personally the image is very clear, guru sahib goes on...

hukmu hwslu krI bYTw nwnkw sB vwau ]

hukam haasal karee baithaa naankaa sabh vaa-o.

This is the same as the above image, guru sahib is talking about power and control, in this context, hukam means order, and haasal means 1) taxes, 2) revenue, 3) to acquire or obtain, so when we combine the two words it means that if I order to collect revenue/money by the use of authority or power, naanak sabh vaao, all of this could pass away like (vaao: a puff of wind).

mqu dyiK BUlw vIsrY qyrw iciq n AwvY nwau ]4]1]

math dhaekh bhoolaa veesarai thaeraa chith n aavai naao ||4||1||

When my mind sees these things, I might go astray and forget You, and Your Name would not enter into my mind. ||4||1||

Conclusion/Summary

The form of this shabad (exept for the antra; rahaao tuk), each paragraph is of 3 tuks, in the first two Guru Sahib shows us the colors of maya, the imagery of maya, and in the last line he brings us back in check that when my mind sees these things I might go astray and forget you, and he reminds our minds that by seeing these things DON'T FORGET and always KEEP HIM IN YOUR MIND.

Bhul chuk muaaf karnee.